Virginia Tech Men's Basketball Coach Teaches Team a Lesson With Help of Veterans

Coach Buzz Williams invited veterans to meet with his players.

ByABC News
March 9, 2016, 3:48 PM
Virginia Tech Men's Basketball coach, Buzz Williams, had a talk with his players and invited veterans to help him with his lesson.
Virginia Tech Men's Basketball coach, Buzz Williams, had a talk with his players and invited veterans to help him with his lesson.
HokieVision

— -- Virginia Tech men's basketball coach Buzz Williams wanted his players to recognize the importance of the national anthem.

Williams' players saw "The Star-Spangled Banner" as just as a song played before every game and nothing more, so the coach gathered the young men in the school's gym, where they were met with veterans and war heroes. The two groups stood across from each other face-to-face, as they watched Williams walk up and down the aisle between them.

“We didn’t earn those chairs,” said Williams pointing to the bench while addressing the team in a video that recently went viral.

“These guys, when they were your age, interrupted their life, they paused their education, they changed their career, and they gave their life for those chairs,” Williams said.

In an emotional moment, Williams spoke about the veterans sacrifice, the obstacles they had to overcome and the importance of their service and protection.

“So when the anthem is played, we’re going to stand like grown men, and we’re going to honor men like this, that gave their life, so we can have a chair to sit in,” Williams said.

The video, which was posted a few months ago, recently resurfaced to Coach Williams' delight.

Watch the video below: